READING+WORKSHOP

Reading Workshop is an important component of Grade Eight English. You will be asked to read every night for at least one-half hour. The following day in class, you will be asked to record the pages you have read the night before.

As you complete each literary work, you will make an entry in the reading room. Look to the right of this box to find the Reading Room that corresponds to the teacher with whom you are currently studying. Click on that link, and you will find your instructions.

Why am I writing this?

All writing, especially a book review, demands a real audience. Your entries in this discussion will help other students decide what they want to read next, or what they should avoid. You will want to indicate to your peers the genre (type of work) you have just read. You will want to include enough about the work that someone can get a feel for the story and the way it is written. You want to direct other readers towards or away from reading the book you have just finished.

What should I write?

You might write a brief review of the work, recommending it or not and explaining why, without, of course, giving away the story. You might focus on the setting of the novel, and write about the where and when. You might focus on a character in the work, and explore that character further. You might focus on the theme or main idea of the literary work, and discuss how this was meaningful for you. You could share the way in which reading this book changed your perspective.

Actually, we are leaving this pretty much open to your needs as a writer. Let the form your writing takes reflect what you have to tell us.

How much should I write?

Write at least one well-constructed paragraph. You must proofread and edit your work. Others will be reading what you have to say.